November 30,1908

November 30

He got up late.
At 3:00, he went to the newspaper company with his manuscript by a vehicle drawn by a man.
Then, he got 30 yen, the first pay for his writing, the first income since he came to Tokyo.
He visited a friend to return money, paid 20 yen to the geshukuya and gave 2 yen to the maids.
About 9:00, he went to a restaurant with Kyosuke, ate Japanese fries, drank and talked a lot.
At 12:00, he came back drunken and slept down.

November 27,1908

November 27

Kyosuke came back late and enjoyed the taste of the persimmon a maid brought.

November 17,1908

November 17

A telephone call from a friend.
Another from the newspaper company.

November 16,1908

November 16

The rental books peddler came and he rented one.
He could not sleep well because of a little fever and his stuffed nose.
In the bedding, he heard the sound of the clock showing 2:00.

November 11,1908

November 11

A friend came. They talked and drank beer.

November 9,1908

November 9

It’s fun for him to read the newspaper every morning. It’s ninth day.

November 7,1908

November 7

The rental books peddler came and he rented 3 books of the Edo Era’s wood block printing.

November 5,1908

November 5

When a friend went out of his room to go back, he was going down to the entrance together.

November 3,1908

November 3

In the morning, he rented a book from the rental books peddler. He slept at 2:00.

October 31,1908

October 31

He got up early.
It’s raining all day. 51 Fahrenheit.
Even though he’s wearing his padded jacket, he felt cold.
He had read a book he had rented.

October 29,1908

October 29

A friend came. They had lunch together.
He went out.
When he came back, there was a postcard on his desk.

October 28,1908

October 28

He was dreaming of his hometown.
A maid opened the paper covered sliding door and he awoke.
He had been thinking about his hometown in the bedding for about 2 hours and got up a little before 11:00.
About 1:00, he asked the landlady to come to his room and wait for the payment and he had succeeded.
The rental books peddler came. He rented one.

October 26,1908

October 26

He had read 2 books he rented this day in the bedding until 4:00 a.m.

October 24,1908

October 24

The rental books peddler came.
He rented two and had read both until 8:00.

October 23,1908

October 23

In the morning, he made telephone calls to 2 friends but neither was answering.

October 22,1908

October 22

In the morning, he was reading a letter in the bedding. He had read a book he had rented.

October 21,1908

October 21

He had read another.
He went to Kyosuke’s room and talked for about 2 hours.

October 20,1908

October 20

The rental books peddler came.
He rented two and had read one until 3:00 a.m.
About 1:00, someone came in.

October 18,1908

October 18

Lunch with Kyosuke.
The rental books peddler came. He rented one.

October 16,1908

October 16

The rental books peddler came.
He rented one and had read it.

October 12,1908

October 12

It’s a fine autumn day.
He got up at 8:30.
He changed a postal note into money and bought a book, a belt for kimono, envelopes and etc.
Before doing anything particular, lunchtime came.
Haircut and bating made him feel comfortable.
According to a maid, the day before, about 3:00, an around thirty years old un-shaven fat man had come to see him.

October 10,1908

October 10

He had still been sleeping until about 11:00.
But his brain was not clear.

October 8,1908

October 8

He had been writing a novel and slept about 3:00 a.m.

October 7,1908

October 7

He got up at 10:00. So, he had only 2 meals this day.

October 6,1908

October 6

A maid said, “It’s 6 today”. He was frightened.

October 4,1908

October 4

He and Kyosuke went to a Western style park, walking, dinner with beer in a restaurant, walking again, got on the streetcar, watching strange town for about 40 minutes, and arrived at Asakusa.
They were walking around for 30 minutes and watched a movie.
They got on the streetcar again.
He was tired and hungry.
They ate Japanese noodle and drank beer in a restaurant near the geshukuya.
He came back and slept at 11:00.
He had experienced the Sunday of Tokyo for the first time.

October 2,1908

October 2

When he got up, he found letters from his wife and younger sister.
He visited a friend to borrow 1 yen and came back after 2:00. He bought manuscript papers, ink and a pen.
The sky had cleared up and the sun had set.
The sunset shine was changing moment by moment and the color of the night was crawling step by step from the surface of roofs.
The moon was shining above the chimney top of the army factory.
He was lying down on his back in the small veranda outside of the window, watching the sky and hearing the sound of the town vacantly. Many things were coming up to his mind.
He read Genji and slept.

october 1,1908

October 1

Out of the window, he was watching down dragonflies.

September 30,1908

September 30

In the evening in Kyosuke’s room, drinking beer and eating Japanese noodle, he was reading Chinese classic poems. He came back to his room around 11:30.

September 21,1908

September 21

A friend came in the afternoon. They went to a shrine and watched religious dances and a movie. He came back a little before 11:00.
From this day, the kinky hair near-sighted maid “Oshin” had taken charge of the third floor. She and the elder sharp tongue “Otsune” spoke also in their dialect. “Otake” with decayed teeth brought up in Tokyo. The most modern, “Ohide” was making jokes all day. “Osue” was 11 years old, taller for her age and spoke in clear Tokyo dialect.

September 19,1908

September 19

A friend came around 11:00. They took lunch together in his room.
He lay down earlier, read Genji and slept.

September 17,1908

September 17

He lay down in the bedding and read Genji.

September 15,1908

September 15

Mt. Fuji could be seen this morning for the first time.

September 11,1908

September 11

A phone call from a friend. He hated the telephone. It’s terrible for him. It’s 4 years since he talked by telephone last time. He didn’t get used to it. He explained to the maid he’s smoking and could not go there and told her to ask the purpose of the telephone. She said the person had got a postcard from him nothing was written. Unwillingly he went to the place of the telephone.
Then, he thought he could accept any call.

September 10,1908

September 10

A friend came with pears. With Kyosuke, they ate them.

September 9,1908

September 9

He got up early also this morning.
He wrote a letter. He named himself “The philosopher of the third floor”.
He decided to read Genji for a while every night before sleeping.

September 8,1908

September 8

He got up early. It’s 66 Fahrenheit this morning.He picked up a big flea and threw it from the window of the third floor. It’s disappeared in the autumn wind. He felt chilly.He moved to room No.9 . It’s 3 and a half grass mats wide room in a strange shape. It’s called “ The hole in the third floor”. It’s facing a hill across a valley full of roofs below his eyes. It’s brave that on the left, 3 tall chimneys of the army factory were keeping to give out black smoke.According to a maid, Mt. Fuji could be seen in sunny days.The heaven was close, blue and wide to his eyes. The insect songs were coming up from a distance. His room seemed to be filled with the autumn wind coming through the window without obstacle.In the evening, he wrote letters. When he finished them, there was no sound of streetcars.The moon was shown through a break in the clouds.He felt the autumn deeply.He lay down and read Genji for a while.

September 7,1908

September 7

In the first morning on the third floor, he got up at 6:00.Kyosuke went to work.With 5 yen Kyosuke had given him the night before, he took his Japanese trousers and jacket out of pawn (He had moved wearing his padded jacket) and bought flowers of patrinia scabiosaefolia for the display corner in the wall and tea leaves, wooden clogs and grass woven sandals.He wrote 17 postcards to notice the new address.He put things in order.Soon after bathing in the geshukuya, Kyosuke came back.

September 6,1908

September 6

He got up at about 11:00.He had been thinking in the bedding.Kyosuke came to his room and asked him how about moving to another geshukuya in the course of the day.Kyosuke had been living here for 4 years and repeated to say it’s boring and depressing. He asked Kyosuke why they should hurry. Kyosuke said the landlady had negotiated hard for his unpaid rent. Kyosuke got angry and went around this morning to find another geshukuya.He made a joke that he would shelter Kyosuke even if he would be dead.Kyosuke decided to sell books for paying all his rent and moving. A man of the bookstore came late in the afternoon.While waiting for the man of the bookstore, they were playing Japanese chess. He was beaten by Kyosuke.Toward evening, they started to pack their things.A little past 5:00, they had moved to another geshukuya, “Gaihei-kan-besso蓋平館別荘”. It’s new and 3 storied. From the gate of stone poles to the entrance, there was a flat stone paved pass. He had heard it’s most magnificent geshukuya in Tokyo.They stayed this night in a room facing north in the third floor. It’s magnificent.He opened the window. The wide starlit sky without obstruction and insects’ songs coming up from the town like a valley. Chilly autumn wind was coming down from the heaven.They lay down next to each other. After talking and laughing, they slept maybe around 1:00.

September 4,1908

September 4

Heavy rain from the morning.It’s a very humid day as the day before.73 Fahrenheit. Autumn rain.It didn’t stop raining after all.In the evening, he talked with Kyosuke and didn’t do anything else

September 5,1908

September 5

It’s 70 Fahrenheit nearly as it was the day before.Without his Japanese spread trousers in the pawn, wearing the padded jacket which sleeve was broken, he felt cold.

September 3,.1908

September 3

Kyosuke came back from his home town.

September 1,1908

September 1

He wrote twice, “September had come at last”.The rooms which had been vacant were almost occupied.After thinking in the bedding for about one hour, he got up at 9:00.Wearing a knit shirt and a padded night gown, he didn’t feel cold or hot.A friend came. They were talking in his room and went out for lunch. He came back about 1:00.After lying down in the bedding, he happened to want writing. It’s several years since the last time. He had been writing some 10 poems until about 2:00.